Reset
by JantoFan
Summary: AU version of the Torchwood episode 'Reset'. What if Martha had come across one of the Torchwood members before, in the year that never was? How would she react to seeing them again?


**This is a random one-shot I wrote on the plane home from my holiday. I've had this idea in my head ever since 'Reset' aired, and I thought I'd finally get round to writing it down!**

* * *

Martha grinned at the door in front of her. It was a plain, ordinary looking door; leading to a plain, ordinary looking tourist office. But beyond that office, Martha knew, lay the Torchwood Hub.

She pushed open the door and smiled delightedly at the man just inside.

"Hello, Jack!"

"Martha Jones! Good to see you again!" Jack Harkness exclaimed, hugging her close. After a few seconds he pulled back, a boyish grin on his face. "Come and meet my team!" he hesitated slightly, "and then down to work." He pulled a slight face, and Martha laughed.

"Remind me again, who am I meeting?"

"There's Toshiko, she's our resident technological genius. Owen; our medic so you'll be working pretty closely with him…" he shot her a glance, "but not _too_ closely I hope…"

"Jack!"

"Gwen; she's our…um…well, I guess you could call her the 'heart' of Torchwood. And then there's Ianto. Handy with a stun-gun, terrific at cleaning, makes coffee to die for and looks fantastic in a suit. What?"

He had noticed Martha smiling at him.

"Nothing." She told him, her smile broadening. She wondered if he realised just how much his eyes had softened and sparkled when he spoke about Ianto.

Jack glared suspiciously at her, then seemed to decide to let it go. They reached the cog door and it rolled open to a blaring alarm. Martha looked around her, and saw several faces looking back at her with interest.

"Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper." Jack said, pointing at each of them in turn, "Everyone, this is Martha Jones; UNIT."

"Hiya." Martha said, slightly self consciously.

"And this is Ianto Jones!" Jack said, just as Martha became aware of movement behind her. She turned to greet the new arrival.

The smile on her face died instantly to be replaced by blank shock, and she wavered slightly on the spot as if about to faint.

"Pterodactyl." She breathed.

Ianto blinked at her. "I'm sorry?" he glanced at Jack, but the older man looked just as confused as he felt.

"I'm…I'm sorry, I need to…just…" to everyone's surprise, her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "I have to go."

With that, she turned and practically fled out of the building. Owen gazed for a few seconds at the spot she'd just occupied, before turning his head very slowly to look at Jack.

"Tell us, Jack; are _any_ of your friends actually sane?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Martha leant against the wall of a building, struggling to control her breathing. She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes, grimacing when it came away with black mascara smudges. She must look a right mess.

Pterodactyl was there. At Torchwood.

How? Why hadn't he told her he was Torchwood? She hadn't even met him in England!

He was so very different to how she remembered him. His eyes held none of the pain and hardness she was used to seeing, and his nose remained unbroken; his face free from the scars and imperfections she remembered so clearly.

But it was him. Martha was sure of it.

_

* * *

_

Martha gasped in pain as the man landed on top of her. She'd just been rugby tackled to the ground.

"_What the hell are you doing?!" she demanded._

"_You fool! What were you thinking, wondering about? They might see you!"_

_Martha was shaken. She'd only removed the key from around her neck for a second, and this man had seen her. For the first time it really hit home just how much danger they were all in, and how important it was to stay invisible. "I'll be fine. I've managed ok until now." She shivered slightly from the cold. "I'm Martha. Martha Jones. And you are?"_

_He considered her for a long moment. "Pterodactyl." He said eventually._

"_Pterodactyl? Bit of a funny name." she threw him a smile._

_He didn't return it._

"_It's not safe to use real names. Not anymore. Not for me."_

_Martha didn't ask why not. She could see the pain in his eyes, and wasn't sure she could handle one more persons despair. Her own was crippling enough._

"_Do you live around here?" she asked._

"_Can I trust you?"_

"_If you couldn't, I'd hardly tell you." A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Martha smiled. "You can trust me. Too many people have died on Harold Saxons word. Anyone against him has no problems with me."_

_He considered her. "Do you have anywhere to stay?"_

"_That depends. Can I trust you?"_

_The smile tugged at his lips again, but he hid it quickly. "You can trust me."_

"_In that case no, I don't."_

_He nodded. "Follow me._

* * *

Oh God, they were all going to think she was a total freak, weren't they? Now she'd gotten over the initial shock of seeing him again, she realised how completely weird that would have seemed.

Oh God, what about Ianto? He was going to think she was insane or something. She couldn't possibly tell him why she'd reacted like that.

Could she?

No. She hadn't told Tom after all…

…But that was different, wasn't it? Ianto was Torchwood, Tom wasn't…

Martha still couldn't believe he'd never told her he was Torchwood, in all the time they knew each other.

Martha took a deep breath, looking at the door in front of her. She couldn't believe it had only been an hour since she stood before it feeling excited.

Now she just felt anxious.

She pushed the door open and froze when she saw Ianto sat at the desk. He raised his head and his expression became wary, as if expecting her to fly off the handle again.

"Ianto. Hello. Listen, I'm sorry about before…"

"Its fine, really." he still looked uncomfortable. "I'll let you through; Jack'll want to know you're back."

"Thanks, Terry." He frowned at her in confusion. It took Martha a few seconds to realise what she'd done. "Ianto! Thanks _Ianto_, I mean." She could feel her face getting hot.

"No problem."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Martha knocked tentatively on the door. "Jack?"

"Martha! Are you ok?"

She walked in and closed the door. "I'm fine. Look, Jack, I'm really sorry about my outburst before, it was really unprofessional of me. It won't happen again."

"What happened?"

"It was nothing. Just…time of the month. I get emotional."

Jack gazed at her. "Bull."

"What?"

"Bull. You were absolutely fine until you turned round and saw Ianto. Why did he make you freak out?"

"Leave it, Jack. I told you, I'm just emotional."

"Martha, we've been through enough together. You can trust me."

Martha hung her head. "I know. I know I can, and I do, but…"

"You…know him, don't you?" Jack asked tentatively. Martha nodded. "But why wouldn't he say anything? If he knows you?" Jack sounded confused.

"Because he doesn't know me. Not anymore."

Jack took a sharp intake of breath. "You met him last year, didn't you?"

She nodded, a tear trailing down her cheek. "The year that never was."

_

* * *

_

Martha looked round when she heard the front door close quietly, and pointed her gun at the doorway to the hall. She knew the Doctor wouldn't like her carrying a weapon, but Pterodactyl had insisted.

_She didn't tell him she never actually kept it loaded. It was all for show. What she would do if she ever actually needed to shoot anyone she wasn't sure, but so far that hadn't been an issue._

"_It's me." A voice said, and Martha relaxed and lowered the gun. About five seconds later the door opened and the now familiar figure of Pterodactyl entered. It had been three weeks now since she had met him, and she liked to think they'd become friends, rather than just allies by necessity._

"_No go." He told her with a sigh, putting down his bag. "The road's completely blocked. We'll need to find some other way out of this God-forsaken country."_

"_We'll manage. It's ok, Terry."_

_Martha had decided very early on that 'Pterodactyl' was too much of a mouthful to call him all the time. The young man hadn't seemed to mind the abbreviation; in fact he'd become more relaxed and friendly after she'd suggested it. Martha wondered if it was maybe because 'Terry' was an actual human name, rather than an animal. Or Dinosaur. Whatever._

"_I managed to find food!" he told her, his face brightening._

_Martha sat up straighter. It had been days since she'd last eaten and she felt like she was starving._

"_So is that what took so long?" she asked a few minutes later, mouth full. "Looking for food?"_

"_Um…not exactly. It was in a house which hadn't been raided for some reason, we got lucky, but…there was this family. Two parents and…a little boy…" he trailed off. Martha felt she didn't need him to say any more._

"_You buried them." it wasn't a question._

"_I had to, Martha, I couldn't just leave them! They were all so young...someone should have stopped this…"_

"_Who did you lose, Terry?"_

_His face seemed to freeze, and Martha wondered if she'd made a mistake in asking. "Who says I lost anyone?"_

"_The way you keep helping people, rather than just trying to keep yourself alive. And your eyes hold so much pain…I'm sorry. It's none of my business, I…"_

"_I was with friends."_

_Martha nodded, but didn't speak. This wasn't the time._

"_It was just the four of us. We were doing what we could to help the people, trying to save the world. Harold Saxon must have not liked what we were doing or something, because he…tracked us down. He knew our names."_

"_That's why you use the pseudonym." Martha breathed, forgetting for a moment her no speaking decision._

"_Exactly. He had us tracked down to this house and he…" his eyes filled with tears, "they were killed. All of them. He sent those bloody Toclofane things to kill us."_

_Martha looked at him comfortingly. She could tell there was something else he wasn't telling her. "When they came through the windows, we… we weren't prepared. We drew our guns, started firing, but there was…we had no way of getting out, they had us surrounded. And then I…I spotted this gap in the wall. One of those…those priest holes. And I…I…oh God Martha, I hid. I hid and I listened to them die. My friends died fighting while I cowered in the dark like a fucking __**child**__!"_

_Martha leant forwards and laid her had on his, alarmed by the grief and anger in his face. "Terry, you are __**not**__ to blame."_

"_I should have stayed! Helped them! I should have…"_

"_If you'd stayed and fought with them, the only thing that would have changed is that you'd have died with them. I've seen the Toclofane; I know what they can do. You couldn't have saved your friends."_

"_It doesn't matter. I still should have fought. I'd rather be dead than have this on my conscience."_

"_You have helped so many people! You helped me, didn't you? You're still doing what the four of you set out to do! They'd be proud of you, I know they would."_

"_You'd have been ok."_

"_We don't know that. Terry, I am the only person on this entire planet that can stop Harold Saxon. The only one. And I swear, I could not have done it without you. You __**have**__ helped save the world."_

* * *

"I…I don't believe this."

Martha looked at him sharply. "Without him I'd never have made it. When we met wasn't the last time he saved my ass. If he'd fought with them we'd all be dead. Or worse."

Jack shook his head. "Martha, I'm not blaming him. Honestly I'm not." A small smile lit up his face. "Pterodactyl, huh?"

"Yeah. He said it had 'meaning'."

Jack smiled, his mind going back to the day they caught Myfanwy, the feel of Ianto's body on top of his, the taste of his breath… "Meaning. Yeah." He swallowed. "I…I always hoped…when the Master refused to show me bodies, I…" he looked at her. "What happened to him, Martha?"

_

* * *

_

Weeks passed. Eventually, Pterodactyl had managed to find a survivor with a boat, who was willing to give it to Martha so she could out of Europe to America.

"_I'm gonna miss you." Pterodactyl told her with a sad smile, the morning before she was due to set out. She'd decided it would be safest to sail out at night; less chance of being spotted. "It was nice having someone else to talk to."_

"_What will you do now?"_

"_Survive. Help people." He sighed. "What I've always tried to do."_

_Martha turned to him. "Come with me."_

"_What?"_

"_Come with me. When I leave tonight, there's room on that boat. Come to America. With me." She reached out and took his hand._

"_You…want me to come with you?"_

"_Well…travelling on your own, it's no fun is it?"_

_He chuckled softly. "I'd love to. I always wanted to see the world; this'll be the last chance I get I suppose!"_

_She squeezed his hand gently. "Not if I can help it."_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_Martha peered out from behind a rock. "Shit."_

"_What?"_

"_They're on the beach. The Toclofane. About three of them."_

"_Oh."_

_Martha sat back, her brain whirring. "We'll never make it. They'll see us. We're going to have to go back, Terry, try again tomorrow."_

"_No. this is the best chance you'll get."_

"_We don't have a choice. If we go out there they'll kill us both."_

"_Unless they don't see you."_

"_What?"_

_He turned his head to look at her. Martha could see his eyes shining in the moonlight. "I could go out there. Distract them."_

"_Terry, they'll kill you."_

"_So?"_

_Martha gaped at him. "I can't let you do this! There are so many things still worth living for!"_

"_Maybe." He reached out and stroked her cheek. "But you, Martha Jones. You're worth dying for."_

_Martha blinked back tears. She understood. "Please don't do this."_

"_I have to." He smiled at her. "Remember me?"_

"_Always."_

_She loosened her grip on his wrist, and he ran out onto the beach. "Hi! Over here!"_

_The three orbs zoomed through the sky and surrounded him. Martha dashed out and ran to the small boat camouflaged by weed. When she reached it, she hesitated. Then she turned and looked over at Pterodactyl. Her heart was pounding in her ears and the wind felt like it was cutting her to the bone._

"_Identify yourself." One of the Toclofane ordered._

"_Wouldn't you like to know!"_

"_Identify or die!"_

"_Go to hell."_

_Martha bit back a scream and shielded her eyes as they descended. She still heard his yell of pain._

_When she looked back round, the spheres had gone. She got up and ran to her fallen friend. She reached him, and realised with a mixture of relief and horror that he was still alive._

"_Jack?"_

"_No. No, Terry, it's me. It's Martha."_

"_Martha. Hi."_

_She blinked back tears. "You did it, Terry."_

"_I…I want to see Jack."_

_Martha gave him a swift look over. There was no hope for him, he was dying. "Jack…Jack's coming. He'll be here soon."_

"_Liar." He laughed, and then winced. "I'm dying, not stupid."_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Don't be. Do…do something for me?"_

"_Anything."_

"_Tell…tell Jack. Tell him I love him."_

"_I don't know who Jack is."_

"_You will. And my name…tell him…"_

"_Terry, stay with me. Please stay with me."_

"_I…tell him…" he took a deep shuddering breath, then stilled._

"_Terry? Pterodactyl?" Martha shook him, even though she knew it was hopeless. He was gone._

_She allowed herself 20 seconds to grieve for the young man. She couldn't afford any longer. Then she dug a shallow grave in the sand and laid him in it._

"_You may not have died fighting. But you died saving the world." She whispered, filling in the hole. "And I'm sure Jack would have been proud."_

_She just wished she knew who Jack was._

_As Martha pushed the boat out to sea and jumped inside, she looked back at the beach. She was going to save the world, she was going to defeat the Master if it was the last thing she ever did._

_She was going to do it for her family, for the Doctor, for everyone on the planet._

_And for the young man whose name she'd never know, lying in an unmarked grave._

* * *

Jack wiped a hand over his eyes. "I…I always wondered what happened to them."

"Without him, I'd never have even made it out of Europe. The next day they destroyed every way off the coast. I'd have been stuck."

"No wonder you reacted like that."

"He loves you, you know."

"I know." He sighed. "He really shouldn't though. He'll get hurt."

"You can't help who you fall in love with. I should know."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence a little while longer. Then Jack wiped his eyes again and stood up. "Come on. We've got work to do."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ianto glanced at the door to the Hub from his desk in the tourist office. He should really be getting down there.

He felt…strange. Had done ever since he'd laid eyes on Martha Jones. He didn't understand how she could look so familiar. His mind flashed back to half forgotten dreams; involving death and screaming and strange orbs in the sky.

And a girl, laughing with him, talking with him, holding him as he lay on a beach in the dark.

He shook his head, clearing his mind. It was only dreams.

* * *

**A/N: The flashback bits take place really soon after Martha first leaves the Valient. That's why she's not so hardened by everything yet.**


End file.
